V-MIL Audit: New Look

Audit Phase: V-MIL Target Company: New Look (New Look Retailers Ltd, Company No. 01618428) Audit Date: 2026-05-01 Headquarters: London / Weymouth, United Kingdom Parent Entity: Brait SE (South African investment group) Business Description: UK-based high-street fashion retailer, founded 1969, operating approximately 400+ stores primarily in the UK and Ireland. Core business consists of the design, sourcing, and retail sale of civilian fashion garments, footwear, and accessories.

Direct Defence Contracting & Procurement

No public evidence identified of any defence contracting or procurement relationship between New Look and any military or state security body.

New Look is a civilian fashion retailer with no publicly documented business lines in defence, security equipment, or government military procurement. A review of corporate filings for the financial years 2022/23 and 2023/24, held at Companies House under company number 01618428, reveals no revenue streams, contractual disclosures, or related-party transactions involving defence or security customers ¹. The company’s stated business activities in its annual accounts are confined to retail fashion ¹.

No contracts, tender awards, framework agreements, or memoranda of understanding with the Israeli Ministry of Defence (IMOD), the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), the Israel Prison Service, the Israel Border Police, or any other Israeli or foreign state security body have been identified in any corporate filing, UK procurement register, or media source ¹²³. New Look does not appear on the UK Ministry of Defence’s Defence Contracts Online (DCO) procurement awards database or in any UK Government Find a Tender Service notice as a named defence supplier ²³.

New Look does not appear in SIBAT (Israel’s Defence Export and Defence Cooperation Directorate) listings, international defence exhibition catalogues, or any defence procurement registry in connection with Israeli or any other state defence contracts. No corporate press releases, government announcements, or trade press reports detailing defence cooperation, joint ventures, or partnership agreements with Israeli or any other defence entities have been identified ¹.

Dual-Use Products & Tactical Variants

No public evidence identified of any dual-use product lines or militarised product variants.

New Look’s publicly documented product range consists exclusively of civilian fashion garments, footwear, and accessories marketed to a general consumer audience ¹. The company does not manufacture or market ruggedised, tactical, mil-spec, flame-resistant, ballistic-grade, or otherwise defence-grade product variants. Its corporate filings and published product catalogues contain no reference to military-specification or defence-grade lines for the audit periods reviewed ¹.

No export licence applications, end-user certificates, or government export control reviews relating to New Look’s sales to Israeli defence or security end-users have been identified in UK Government strategic export licensing databases or any other jurisdiction’s published export control records ⁴. The company’s Modern Slavery Act statement, which is the primary public document addressing supply chain structure, makes no reference to defence end-users, military customers, or dual-use goods ⁵.

Because no dual-use product lines have been identified, analysis of civilian-to-military product conversion pathways and end-user certification obligations is not applicable to New Look at this time.

Heavy Machinery, Construction & Infrastructure

No public evidence identified of any involvement in heavy machinery supply, construction, or infrastructure activity connected to Israeli military or settlement operations.

New Look does not manufacture, sell, lease, or service heavy machinery, construction equipment, earth-moving vehicles, armoured engineering vehicles, or demolition equipment of any kind. This is confirmed across both the 2022/23 and 2023/24 annual accounts filed at Companies House, which describe a retail fashion business with no engineering or industrial product lines ¹.

No verified reports, photographic evidence, NGO investigations, or UN documentation reference New Look equipment in any context involving Israeli settlements, the West Bank separation barrier, military installations, or occupied territories. New Look does not appear in the UN Human Rights Council’s database of business enterprises involved in activities related to Israeli settlements (A/HRC/43/71, 2020) ⁶, nor in related OHCHR documentation. The company similarly does not appear in any NGO-compiled corporate occupation database reviewed as part of this audit ⁷.

No contracts for the construction, maintenance, servicing, or expansion of Israeli military checkpoints, detention facilities, military bases, settlement infrastructure, or the separation barrier have been identified in any corporate disclosure, procurement database, or investigative report ²³.

Supply Chain Integration with Defence Primes

No public evidence identified of any supply chain relationship with Israeli or other defence prime contractors.

New Look is not a component manufacturer, sub-systems integrator, or processed-materials supplier to any defence prime. The company operates as a downstream consumer goods retailer sourcing finished and semi-finished fashion goods primarily from Tier 1 and Tier 2 garment manufacturers in South and Southeast Asia, as documented in its Modern Slavery Act statement ⁵.

No verified supply relationships with Elbit Systems, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, Israel Military Industries (IMI/Elbit Land), or any other Israeli defence prime contractor have been identified in any corporate disclosure, defence industry filing, arms industry annual report, or trade publication ¹. New Look does not operate in any product category — including optical systems, electronic sub-assemblies, propulsion, guidance systems, communications hardware, composite armour, or energetic materials — relevant to Israeli or any other defence prime supply chains.

No joint development programmes, co-production agreements, technology transfer arrangements, or licensed manufacturing agreements between New Look and any Israeli or other defence firm have been identified. The annual report of New Look’s parent company, Brait SE, similarly contains no disclosure of portfolio-level defence industrial relationships attributable to the New Look entity ⁸.

Logistical Sustainment & Base Services

No public evidence identified of any logistical, sustainment, or base services contracts with military or security installations.

New Look’s documented commercial activities are entirely within retail fashion sales and associated retail distribution logistics. No contracts to provide catering, transport, fuel supply, waste management, facilities maintenance, telecommunications infrastructure, security services, or any other support services to IDF bases, Israeli military training facilities, detention centres, border checkpoints, or security installations have been identified in any corporate filing, procurement record, or investigative source ¹².

No service contracts with any geographic scope relating to the West Bank, Golan Heights, East Jerusalem, or any other occupied or disputed territory have been identified. No verified shipping, freight forwarding, or port handling contracts specifically servicing Israeli defence logistics, military cargo, or arms shipments have been identified. New Look’s supply chain logistics, as described in its annual accounts and Modern Slavery Act statement, relate to inbound fashion goods from Asian manufacturing hubs and outbound retail distribution within the UK and selected international markets ¹⁵.

Munitions, Weapons Systems & Strategic Platforms

No public evidence identified of any involvement in munitions, weapons systems, or strategic defence platforms.

New Look has no documented role — as prime contractor, sub-contractor, licensed manufacturer, or component supplier — in the production of any lethal platform for any customer. This includes small arms, crew-served weapons, artillery systems, armoured fighting vehicles, tactical unmanned aerial systems, naval vessels, or any other weapons system intended for Israeli or any other armed force ¹⁹.

New Look does not manufacture ammunition, explosive ordnance, chemical propellants, pyrotechnic initiators, warhead components, or munitions precursor materials for any end-user. The company’s SIPRI Arms Transfers Database profile is absent, consistent with its status as a civilian retailer with no arms transfer activity ⁹.

New Look has no verified role in the manufacture, integration, maintenance, supply of components, or through-life support for Israeli missile defence systems (including Iron Dome, David’s Sling, or Arrow programmes), combat aircraft, main battle tanks, warships, or ballistic missile systems. It does not supply guidance electronics, fire-control systems, radar components, propulsion units, warhead casings, or any sub-system relevant to such platforms ⁹.

Export Licensing, Regulatory & Legal History

No public evidence identified of any export licensing proceedings, regulatory enforcement actions, or legal challenges related to defence supply.

No UK or foreign government decisions to grant, deny, suspend, or revoke export licences for New Look products destined for Israeli military or security end-users have been identified in publicly available UK Government strategic export licensing records ⁴. This finding is consistent with New Look’s business profile as a civilian fashion retailer with no product lines subject to export control classification.

No investigations, citations, civil monetary penalties, or enforcement actions relating to New Look’s compliance with arms embargoes, dual-use export control regimes, or sanctions affecting defence trade with Israel or any other jurisdiction have been identified. New Look is not listed in any known arms embargo compliance proceeding or export control enforcement action across the jurisdictions reviewed ⁴.

No court proceedings, judicial reviews, or legal challenges brought against New Look — or against any government authority regarding a defence supply relationship involving New Look — have been identified in UK court records, legal reporting, or NGO documentation ¹⁰.

The company’s most recent Companies House filings contain no director disclosures, contingent liabilities, or legal provisions associated with defence export compliance or arms trade regulation ¹¹¹.

Civil Society Scrutiny & Documented Investigations

No public evidence identified of civil society scrutiny or documented investigations specifically directed at New Look on defence or military supply grounds.

New Look does not appear in the Who Profits Research Center database of companies alleged to be operating in or profiting from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict economy ¹². It similarly does not appear in the AFSC Investigate company profile database ¹³, in Corporate Occupation records of UK companies operating in the occupied territories ⁷, or in the UN Human Rights Council’s database of business enterprises involved in activities related to Israeli settlements (A/HRC/43/71) ⁶. No report published by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, or any academic institution has specifically addressed a military, security, or dual-use supply chain relationship between New Look and the Israeli state or any other armed force.

New Look has not been identified as a named target of organised boycott, divestment, or exclusion campaigns specifically grounded in defence sector activities connected to Israel. It does not appear on the BDS National Committee’s primary boycott target lists on grounds of defence or military supply ¹⁴, nor in Palestine Solidarity Campaign corporate campaign materials in this specific context ¹⁵. The Business & Human Rights Resource Centre’s company profile for New Look covers labour rights and modern slavery concerns in its garment manufacturing supply chain but contains no findings regarding defence supply, Israeli military customers, or security sector relationships ¹⁰.

New Look’s published human rights and supply chain responsibility statements are confined to its Modern Slavery Act statements and general sourcing ethics policies ⁵. These instruments address labour standards within New Look’s garment manufacturing supply chain — covering issues such as forced labour, child labour, and audit mechanisms — and contain no reference to defence or security sector supply of any kind ⁵. The Ethical Consumer profile for New Look addresses labour rights, environmental performance, and tax, but does not flag any Israeli military or defence supply relationship ¹⁶. No public statements, policy changes, contract terminations, or end-use monitoring commitments relating to defence supply chain activities connected to Israel have been made by New Look.

New Look previously operated franchise or concession retail stores in Israel via third-party franchise partners, as noted in trade and retail press. This commercial retail presence does not constitute a defence or military supply relationship, and no evidence was found connecting this retail activity to any Israeli security or military body ¹¹⁰.

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